The Braves' veteran first baseman has plenty of miles on him anyway. He's 45 years old and is in the middle of his 17th major league season.

He's played for seven major league teams as well as teams in Japan, Mexico and Korea.

So when asked about his closing in on 2,400 major league hits, a mark fewer than 100 other players have met in the game's history, he shrugs his shoulders.

"Nah, it's no big deal," said Franco, who entered Tuesday's game against the Florida Marlins with 2,399 hits. "Maybe 2,500 would be, but not 2,400. I still have quite a few people to pass."

To be exact, he has 95 players to pass. He knows he'll never challenge Pete Rose's hit record of 4,256, but he still has aspirations of reaching his career-long goal.

"I wanted to get 3,000 hits," he said. "I always thought that would really be something.

He doubts his chances, although he said he intends to play "until I'm 50." That means four more seasons. On his current pace this season - which will likely slow down once Adam LaRoche returns from injury later this week - he'll need 554 more over those four years.

That's an average of 139 hits each season. The last time he had that many hits was with the Cleveland Indians in 1996.

Cox said Franco's already broken that barrier no matter what the record books say. Franco totaled more than 700 hits in his five seasons playing overseas, which would put him over 3,000.

"Those are worth something," Cox said.

Cox admits he's shocked Franco had to leave the United States to find work. Franco's first season overseas was in 1995, when he played with Chiba of the Japanese league. One season earlier with the Chicago White Sox, he hit .319 with a career-high 20 home runs.

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He returned to the U.S. for the 1996 season and hit .322 for the Cleveland Indians. Two years later, he was back in Chiba, then spent a year in Mexico - hitting .423 - followed by a season in Korea and another year in Mexico.

The Braves signed him for the last month of the 2001 season.

"I guess somebody thought he's 40 years old and it was time to hang them up," Cox said. "He thought otherwise, obviously."

And that kind of dedication is a milestone in its own right.

LaRoche rehabbing in minors

First baseman Adam LaRoche flew to Richmond, Va., early Tuesday to play in the Braves' Class AAA affiliate's doubleheader against Louisville. The games will be LaRoche's first action since separating his left shoulder in Atlanta's game on May 28.

He'll spend a maximum of three days with Richmond, although Cox said he could be back in Atlanta's lineup as early as Wednesday.

"If he does well, I want to bring him back and give Julio (Franco) a break," Cox said.

LaRoche declared himself ready to return on Monday after taking batting practice for the fourth consecutive day. He said he needed a few games in the minors to get his timing back.

LaRoche, a rookie, was hitting .242 before the injury. Franco has performed well as the everyday starter. He was batting .279 heading into Tuesday's game.

Mike Hessman will be sent back to the minors to clear a roster spot for LaRoche.

Estrada sore after being hit

A sore Johnny Estrada took batting practice Tuesday and nothing else. The Braves' catcher sat out the second game of a four-game series against the Marlins after taking a Brad Penny fastball off his thigh in the third inning of Monday's opener.

Estrada left the game after being hit, replaced by Eddie Perez.

Estrada wore a heavy wrap on his leg Tuesday and admitted his thigh was "very sore." He is listed as day-to-day.

Estrada likely won't be out too long. He is the Braves' leading hitter with a .338 batting average. He batted .550 in a five-game span prior to his injury.

"He's a great hitter, man. Johnny's a tough out," Cox said. "He's got good balance, a good approach, good thinking. He's does a lot of good things."

This and that

J.D. Drew's hitting numbers continue to climb. Drew smacked his second home run in two days on Monday, giving him a team-leading 16 on the season and pushing his slugging percentage to .578. His batting average is .287, and he's hit .304 in the Braves' last 57 games after a slow, injury-plagued start to the season. ... Starting pitcher Paul Byrd will try to keep his feel-good comeback going Wednesday night against the Marlins. Byrd missed all of the 2003 season and part of this season with an elbow injury. He's 1-1 with a 2.03 earned run average since returning to the mound two weeks ago. He'll face Florida right-hander A.J. Burnett (0-3) in Wednesday's game at Turner Field. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.